Homeschooling can be very intimidating just starting out. Thirty years ago, there was an issue of not enough homeschool curriculum or resources, now we have the opposite problem. There are too many resources to narrow down. https://homeschoolinginthemidstofchaos.com/getting-started/ Here are some resources to help you if you are starting to homeschool in Florida.
Is your child still in school?
If your child is in school, it can be very scary to think about just pulling them out of school. You do have the right to start homeschooling at any time. I do homeschool evaluations and testing and obviously the summer is my busiest time of year, but I do them all year round. As humans, we want nice clean breaks from things, but if your child is not doing well in school and you have decided to take them out you can do that at any time.
Homeschooling legally
First things first, you should look into the legal implications of starting to homeschool in Florida. These are the laws for homeschooling in Florida, Florida homeschooling laws. To start you will need to decide if you want to sign up as a homeschooler or umbrella schooler. These are the two options for home education students. There are numerous umbrella schools throughout the state you are able to enroll in. The other option is to sign up through the county as a homeschooler. This is what my family has chosen to do, and it has worked very well for us the last ten years. If you decide on this option, then you would send a letter if intent into the county you reside in, Here is a link to the letter of intent, homeschool letter of intent. You would fill this form out for each child you are homeschooling and either mail or email it into the county. Here is a link to the county homeschool education offices, Florida county homeschool contacts.
Do the hard things!
That part done, now you actually have to dive in! This is where it can become overwhelming. Honestly, if your child was in school, I would not run out and buy curriculum right away. I would take some time to deschool and read library books. During this time, you can research different curriculums and decide the next step. You also want to start thinking about your homeschool evaluation that will be due a year from when you initially signed up. This is a post about evaluations, portfolio evaluations. You just need to show the work samples, have a daily log and a reading log.
Then, enjoy the journey! You have got this and so does your child!
